Running back, Arizona, 2017–20
Gary Brightwell
- Height
- 6′1″
- Weight
- 218 lb
- Class (2020)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Chester, PA
- Born
- Feb 28, 1999, in Chester, Pennsylvania
Wikipedia readers: about 692 a month over the past year
Gary Brightwell played running back at Arizona (2017–20). The New York Giants took Brightwell in round 6, No. 196 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
141rushing yards, career highvs. Northern Arizona, 20192rushing touchdowns, career highvs. Texas Tech, 2019Rushing
Receiving
Defense
Returns
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Per play
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage | Adj. rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Arizona | 93 | 0.06 | 28th (n=300) | 0.15 | 5.8 | 13% | 0.03 |
| 2019 | Arizona | 72 | 0.41 | 98th (n=287) | 0.13 | 29.7 | 10% | 0.21 |
| 2020 | Arizona | 103 | -0.06 | 6th (n=212) | 0.14 | -6.4 | 28% | -0.11 |
Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). Adjusted pass and rush: EPA per play adjusted for the defenses faced (CollegeFootballData’s WEPA). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.
Game by game
2020 Arizona 5 games, 386 rushing yards, 1 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 14 | vs. | L 30–34 | 21 | 112 | 0 | 34 | 3 | 25 |
| Nov 21 | at | L 27–44 | 11 | 55 | 0 | 20 | 4 | 12 |
| Nov 28 | at | L 10–27 | 17 | 57 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| Dec 5 | vs. | L 13–24 | 20 | 113 | 1 | 27 | 2 | 5 |
| Dec 11 | vs. | L 7–70 | 17 | 49 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 14 |
2019 Arizona 10 games, 390 rushing yards, 5 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 24 | at | L 38–45 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 11 |
| Sep 7 | vs. | W 65–41 | 5 | 141 | 1 | 94 | – | – |
| Sep 14 | vs. | W 28–14 | 21 | 85 | 2 | 13 | – | – |
| Sep 28 | vs. | W 20–17 | 7 | 33 | 1 | 17 | – | – |
| Oct 5 | at | W 35–30 | 11 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Oct 26 | at | L 31–41 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | – | – |
| Nov 2 | vs. | L 38–56 | 10 | 54 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 38 |
| Nov 16 | at | L 6–34 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 10 | – | – |
| Nov 23 | vs. | L 7–35 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | – | – |
| Nov 30 | at | L 14–24 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 6 |
2018 Arizona 11 games, 530 rushing yards, 3 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs. | L 23–28 | 9 | 30 | 0 | 7 | – | – |
| Sep 8 | at | L 18–45 | 13 | 39 | 0 | 9 | – | – |
| Sep 15 | vs. | W 62–31 | 9 | 86 | 0 | 29 | – | – |
| Sep 22 | at | W 35–14 | 13 | 113 | 1 | 43 | – | – |
| Sep 29 | vs. | L 20–24 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 10 | – | – |
| Oct 6 | vs. | W 24–17 | 7 | 26 | 0 | 10 | – | – |
| Oct 12 | at | L 10–42 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 20 | at | L 30–31 | 15 | 121 | 0 | 72 | – | – |
| Oct 27 | vs. | W 44–15 | 7 | 31 | 0 | 11 | – | – |
| Nov 17 | at | L 28–69 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| Nov 24 | vs. | L 40–41 | 4 | 36 | 1 | 35 | – | – |
2017 Arizona 1 game, 2 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 28 | vs. | W 58–37 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Pro day 2021 |
|---|---|
| Height | 5′10¾″ |
| Weight | 218 lb |
| Arm length | 31″ |
| Hand size | 9⅜″ |
| Wingspan | 74¼″ |
| 40-yard dash | 4.58 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.62 s |
| Vertical jump | 34½″ |
| Broad jump | 9′10″ |
| Bench press | 17 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 7.51 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.48 s |
Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
5 seasons, 29 games with a stat; latest team: Cincinnati Bengals.
| Season | Team | G | Car | Yds | TD | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | New York Giants | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 2022 | New York Giants | 15 | 31 | 141 | 1 | 5 | 39 |
| 2023 | New York Giants | 4 | 9 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 47 |
| 2024 | Cleveland Browns | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NFL career | 29 | 41 | 164 | 1 | 11 | 92 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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